When Greg and Sugar Bull were ready to start a family, health challenges necessitated that they work with a gestational surrogate. The woman who carried and gave birth to their twins lived two states away. The pregnancy went well until the surrogate experienced high blood pressure and other symptoms of preeclampsia, which could have harmed her and the babies.
Both infants had to spend more than a week in the neonatal intensive care unit. It was April , early in the pandemic. Unable to take a plane, the Bulls drove from their home in Huntington Beach, California, to the hospital in Provo, Utah.
They had to quarantine in Utah before they could see the children in the hospital. A couple of weeks later, after the babies could eat and breathe on their own, the Bulls took them home to California.
The gestational surrogate had her own insurance, which covered her care. Medical Service: Neonatal intensive care when the babies were born prematurely after emergency induced labor. The hospital was out of network for the infants. Their account was ultimately sent to collections.
The No Surprises Act now makes this a legal requirement in every state. The provider and insurer are supposed to negotiate a reasonable payment, leaving the patient out of the equation. But what if the insurance company denies that the care is for an emergency? Cigna said it lacked documentation that the NICU care for the twins qualified as an emergency. So the Bulls began receiving insurance explanations showing huge balances owed to Utah Valley.
